Reviews

First Look: P.L.A.Y. Pet Lifestyle And You

Poor Lulu and Beans had only one dog bed. I made it for them in 2006 and at the time I thought I was the best dog mom ever, making them their very own custom pet bed. But then, after a while it began to get kind of stinky and dirty and I quickly realized my novice sewing faux pas: I never added a zipper! Since the bed was oversized for Lulu, there was no way that thing was going in the washing machine. And, one bed for two dogs? That was poor planning, Mike Brady-style. So now, here we are, over four years later and they are still using that one smelly, unwashed, lumpy, dirty, full-of-holes-with-stuffing-coming-out bed (as you can see above). How embarrassing, especially for someone who runs a blog dedicated to awesome dog products! For shame!

Well, a brand new company based in San Francisco called P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You) asked me to do a review of some of their pet beds and I agreed without a thought. I figured it’s time to ditch the bacteria trap for something shiny and new.

P.L.A.Y. Owners Will and Deb were inspired by their cute little pug Momo, and being as cute and special as she is, Momo deserved a better bed than Will and Deb could find. When they introduced me to P.L.A.Y., after falling in love with Momo, I moved on to look at the beds and zeroed in on some stylish ones for my little dudes. I was relieved that they offered large-sized beds for Lulu. They even have an artist collection with one-of-a-kind designs created by San Francisco artist David Collins. I might have received one of those to give away, too, but you’ll have to stay tuned for more about that…

A few days before Christmas, the beds arrived so this was the perfect present to give to my pups. We received the large Serengeti for Lulu and the small black and white Camouflage for Beans.

Lulu checked out the box.

It took Lulu about 2 seconds to dump her old bed and cozy up with the new one. After about 5 minutes, she fell asleep on it. She’s been pretty much attached to it since Day 1.

Then, Beans discovered it.

Lulu: “Hey, is this guy for real? Um, can I get a little help here, please?”

It’s kind of obvious who’s the boss, here.

When it comes to pet beds, I often have issues with ordering via the internet, which is why I like reading reviews online and other blogger’s experiences. You get a better sense of the quality, and this is one instance in which a product arrived and I was pleasantly surprised at the craftsmanship.

What impressed me on my initial once over were a few main things:

First, the thickness and comfort of the fabric. I was expecting a thin cotton and it’s actually a hefty twill. I also didn’t expect Lulu’s bed to be velvety soft and textured. I’m not much of a leopard print type of gal but a modern monochromatic leopard print accented with bright orange? Yes, please.

I was also impressed with the amount of fill. A lot of beds look deflated or flimsy even before your dog lays on them. These were properly filled and pillowy (no lumps!).

Another thing I really like about them is the attention to detail. The boxes were nicely printed with their logo and website, the zipper has P.L.A.Y. printed on them, the hang tags are very well designed, and the beds themselves were well-wrapped and protected during shipping.

I am going to enjoy being able to actually remove the covers and wash them, ideally more than once every four years.

P.L.A.Y. also sent me one of these small Paw beds, which Beans uses on his favorite chair and on the sofa. It just about fits him perfectly.

We said “see you later” to the old bed. Beans got a little over-excited about having his very own bed:

OK, he’s really yawning there, but this photo never gets old. Expect to see it a lot.

We’re going to use these beds for a while and see how things go, and I’ll be sure to update you in a few months with how they’re holding up. It’s been about two weeks since the beds came and the large bed is — by far — getting the most action. Beans likes to lay against a warm body in the colder months and since both dogs can very comfortable fit on it, there’s some serious snuggle action going on.

Jaime Derringer, Founder + Executive Editor of Design Milk and Dog Milk is a Jersey girl living the laid back life in SoCal. She spends way too much time daydreaming about modern art + design. She likes to run, write poems, draw and paint.